About 19 Million Defective Takata Airbags in U.S. Have Not Yet Been Fixed, NHTSA Reports

September 8, 2015

Ryan R. Cox & Associates, LLC

To date, about 19 million vehicles in the U.S. still have defective Takata airbag inflators, a St Louis car accident & personal injury attorney reports. Here’s more on this recall.

Of the 23.4 million defective Takata airbag inflators estimated to be present in vehicles in the U.S., only about 4.4 million have been replaced or fixed to date, federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported at the beginning of this month.

This airbag recall, which is one of the largest and most complicated vehicle equipment recalls in U.S. history, seems to be overwhelming Takata, a Japanese company.

As regulators and Takata gear up to develop more specific steps for carrying out this recall in the coming fall months, some expect that the plans will involve prioritizing the efforts to address the highest-risk vehicles, namely those in southern regions of the U.S.

The defective Takata airbag inflators at the center of this massive recall are susceptible to ruptures that can end up hurling small metal fragments (similar to shrapnel) at the occupants of vehicles upon airbag deployment. In November 2014, the NHTSA announced a national recall for these defective airbags, which have been linked to date to 8 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

While Takata acknowledged these defects this past May as recall efforts were already getting underway, in June, reports circulated that more than 400,000 of the inflators that had already been replaced would have to be recalled and replaced again.

At this point, investigators are still looking into the precise causes of the defects. Although they have yet to find the “smoking gun” that explains why these inflators are susceptible to rupturing, they have found there are a range of contributing factors, only some of which reportedly include:

Humidity, with more humid conditions increasing the risk of rupture

The design of the vehicle in which the defective inflators have been installed – Vehicles from more than 11 automakers have been impacted by this recall. You can see a complete list of the impacted vehicles here.

The Next Steps…

Although it is unclear at this time how long it will take to have all of the defective Takata airbag inflators replaced, NHTSA officials have pointed out that:

They are remaining vigilant about getting these faulty vehicle parts out of circulation.

They will continue to closely monitor Takata’s work and progress with the recall.

They are currently investigating whether Takata may have violated any federal laws and possibly may have delayeded the recall – or failed to report the problems with its airbag inflators – to regulators in a timely manner.

Share your opinions about this recall and its progress/roadblocks on our Facebook & Google+ pages.

If you have been hurt by a defective Takata airbag inflator – or by any defective vehicle equipment, contact an experienced St Louis car accident & personal injury attorney at Ryan R. Cox & Associates, LLC for zealous legal advocacy, support and experienced help with your financial recovery.

To find out more about your rights and what we can do to help you, contact us today to schedule a free, no obligations initial consultation with one of our lawyers. You can set up this consult by calling our firm at (636) 946-6886 or toll free at (855)772-5291. You can also email us using the contact form on this page.

From our offices based in St Charles, our lawyers represent people in St Louis, Hazelwood, Florissant, O’Fallon, Saint Peters, Wentzville, Lake St. Louis, Cottleville, Dardenne Prairie, Weldon Springs, Foristell, Portage Des Sioux, Defiance, Augusta, New Melle, St. Paul, West Alton, Flint Hill, Josephville, and Weldon Spring Heights, as well as individuals throughout St Charles County, St Louis County and the state of Missouri.

Ryan R. Cox & Associates, LLC

Ryan R. Cox & Associates, LLC is a litigation law firm that represents individuals and families in serious personal injury and wrongful death claims throughout Missouri. We help people who have been injured in all types of accidents—including car or truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, and much more. Whether your injury is something that can cause long-term issues like a brain injury or spinal cord injury, or it is something you’ll likely make a full recovery from, we are here to help.